IBM FlashSystem vs NetApp Private Storage comparison

IBM and NetApp are both solutions in the NAS category. IBM is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.5, while NetApp is ranked #16 with an average rating of 8.5. IBM holds a 13.2% mindshare in N, compared to NetApp’s 1.5% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of NetApp users who would recommend it.

IBM FlashSystem

Read 111 IBM FlashSystem reviews

3,561 Views
2,718 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

NetApp Private Storage

Read 14 NetApp Private Storage reviews

305 Views
244 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM FlashSystem

NetApp Private Storage

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 7, 2024

IBM FlashSystem and NetApp Private Storage both compete in the storage market, each offering distinct advantages. IBM FlashSystem appears to have the upper hand with its cost-effectiveness and emphasis on core functionalities.

Features: IBM FlashSystem provides high performance and low latency with features like Easy Tier and a user-friendly GUI, aiding data management and storage virtualization. NetApp Private Storage, in contrast, excels in cloud integration and offers a rich set of features including SnapMirror, yet often faces challenges in ease of use.

Room for Improvement: IBM FlashSystem could enhance scalability, its management interface, pricing transparency, and integration documentation. NetApp Private Storage requires simplification in configuration, improved support responsiveness, and better feature utilization.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM FlashSystem predominantly sees on-premises deployment, with mixed reviews on support quality, highlighting delayed responses as a challenge. NetApp Private Storage integrates well with on-premises and cloud environments, but user satisfaction is hampered by inconsistent customer service.

Pricing and ROI: IBM FlashSystem offers competitive pricing with a bundled licensing model, appealing to budget-conscious organizations despite being slightly higher than some alternatives. NetApp Private Storage, viewed as expensive, provides extensive features but lacks IBM's pricing strategy appeal.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM FlashSystem vs. NetApp Private Storage Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem vs. NetApp Private Storage

April 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

IBM FlashSystem

Ranking in NAS

4th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

111

Ranking in other categories

Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) (4th), All-Flash Storage (13th)

NetApp Private Storage

Ranking in NAS

16th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the NAS category, the mindshare of IBM FlashSystem is 13.2%, down from 13.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp Private Storage is 1.5%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

NAS

Featured Reviews

Raanan Sitton

Vice President Sales at BELOCAL LTD

Offers cost-effective storage for small companies with budget constraints

IBM FlashSystem 5300 is offered at a very low cost in Israel, which is advantageous for small companies. However, other features like deduplication and compression do not perform effectively. The price sensitivity makes it a viable option for clients with budgetary constraints, as it allows us to secure deals based on the cost rather than advanced performance.

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Pramod-Talekar

Sr Service Engineer at Evolent

Well-suited for virtualized environments and highly stable solution

We are in a VMware Intra environment, so we are utilizing NetApp Storage for our virtualization infrastructure NetApp offers multiple features that we utilize for our projects. At the moment, we are extensively using SnapMirror Flex. There is room for improvement in the support. It has been a…

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The maintenance service and support from IBM is very good."

"The valuable features of IBM FlashSystem include flash copy mapping, which is a procedure to collect instant point-in-time data for testing real data."

"IBM FlashSystem is a powerful effective storage solution. Additionally, it is user-friendly, anyone can use it."

"The initial setup was really straightforward. It was not complex. Deployment took one month, due to the data migration duration."

"IBM FlashSystem 5300 is offered at a very low cost in Israel, which is advantageous for small companies."

"It's very easy to manage."

"The FlashSystem 900 consistently delivers performance below 1ms for read/write. This performance is essential for an effective SVC stretch-cluster configuration across two datacenters, and presenting active-active storage to the customer."

"The performance monitoring feature is useful as it can report in 15 minute intervals by hour, day, week, month, or by a custom date range."

More IBM FlashSystem pros

"NetApp has its own dedicated operating system, so it will not be affected by any wireless piggybacking or malware. That's the beauty of NetApp's operating system."

"Disaster recovery. And I like the security very much. I think they have the needed options for security. Can manage NPS using the same tools and process that we use today."

"NetApp is faster than other storage brands."

"As opposed to cloud, we have full control over security, use, who uses it. We own a number of different companies, so we can partition however we want."

"The most valuable feature is integration."

"NetApp has really added a lot of features over the years to improve the product and performance. They can do things now like control ingress. They can control egress."

"The solution scales well."

"The most valuable feature of NetApp Private Storage is out-of-the-box integration with the SAN switches. They are much easier compared to Dell solutions. Additionally, the connector that comes with the solution that allows connection back to the Cisco SAN switches is very good. In Dell, I would need to use an FCIP or CIP port that is required."

More NetApp Private Storage pros

Cons

"We use some open-source tools for monitoring, such as Grafana and it should be bundled along with IBM FlashSystem."

"The interface could improve in IBM FlashSystem."

"The customer's expectations are what they get on the cloud, they're expecting even in the on-premises deployments, going forward."

"The pricing needs to be more competitive."

"It could be easier to implement."

"I think the only thing the developers can look at, is that it is limited to 25 gigabytes currently. In the next release they might want to increase that."

"Customization features must be improved."

"The solution's infrastructure technology level could be PCI Express 5 instead of PCI Express 4 for the next version."

More IBM FlashSystem cons

"They need a little more technical people in Akola. Most of the NetApp people are in Bangalore, Mumbai, or Delhi, but there are very few in Akola. I think NetApp has few technicians in Akola because they mostly rely on partners to service this area."

"It is not the fastest storage solution."

"We had to write a number of custom tools or scripts ourselves to use it as a staging area between our on-premises datacenter and our cloud installation."

"NetApp Private Storage is still integrated into the ISCSI connectivity and the FC protocol. I would recommend them to migrate to the FCIP because the SAN switches are moving further to an FCIP, and are scaling out of the ISCSI connectivity. Sooner or later, that will be an issue for NetApp Private Storage. An NFCIP should be available to them moving three years down the line."

"The solution could improve by having better support experts. For example, they do not have clear instructions on configuration."

"I would like to have the Active-Active feature. Some competitors already have it. I would like NetApp to add it to stay competitive."

"There is room for improvement in the support. It has been a problem for our team."

"I'm not sure how easy it is to use on the cloud versus on-prem. If they have different user experiences, they should work to make the two as similar as possible to make it easy for a user to understand both even if they only deal mainly with one."

More NetApp Private Storage cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is competitive in our country."

"I find the pricing of the solution to be very reasonable."

"The price is a little bit high so is rated a six out of ten."

"The solution has good pricing, but it is not cheaper."

"The tool is cost-efficient."

"Overall the price of the solution is expensive and this includes the license."

"You purchase it as a bundle and the price is comparable."

"The cost of the IBM FlashSystem is lower than the HPE solution."

More IBM FlashSystem pricing and cost advice

"It is an expensive solution."

"The price could be lower."

"The product is costly."

"NetApp Private Storage is cheaper here in India compared to other solutions, such as Dell."

"The price of NetApp Private Storage is similar to other solutions. There is typically an annual license required for this solution."

"We negotiate whatever deal we can get on the type of storage that it is, but it's totally under our control,."

"In general, I am pleased with the pricing, though it is a little high."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

25%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Real Estate/Law Firm

14%

Retailer

11%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM FlashSystem?

It is simple to make an update.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM FlashSystem?

Many factors affect purchasing directly from IBM, often involving a multi-step process. Customers, especially in banking, often use the latest devices as they are upgrading, indicating they do not ...

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What needs improvement with IBM FlashSystem?

The GUI needs some improvement. An additional function that could be helpful is reducing the time it takes to delete volumes, especially if they are compressed or deduplicated.

See all answers

What do you like most about NetApp Private Storage?

NetApp is faster than other storage brands.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp Private Storage?

The product is costly. Also, we need to pay for features like SnapMirror, etc. I rate its pricing a nine out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with NetApp Private Storage?

NetApp is a great storage device, but sometimes support is not accessible. Also, the current version has removed most of the dashboard features. We have to use the CLI for some tasks. Additionally,...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 23% of the time

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Compared 8% of the time

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Compared 8% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 8% of the time

NetApp AFF vs IBM FlashSystem

Compared 6% of the time

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Compared 36% of the time

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Compared 24% of the time

Qumulo vs NetApp Private Storage

Compared 16% of the time

FreeNAS vs NetApp Private Storage

Compared 12% of the time

QNAP NAS Storage vs NetApp Private Storage

Compared 12% of the time

More NetApp Private Storage Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem

April 2025

Download IBM FlashSystem product report

Buyer's Guide

NetApp Private Storage

April 2025

Download NetApp Private Storage product report

Also Known As

IBM Storwize

NPS

Overview

IBM FlashSystem products are enterprise computer data storage systems that store data on flash memory chips. Unlike storage systems that use standard solid-state drives, IBM FlashSystem products incorporate custom hardware based on technology from the 2012 acquisition of Texas Memory Systems. This hardware provides performance, reliability, and efficiency benefits versus competitive offerings.

IBM

NetApp Private Storage (NPS) for Cloud is a family of enterprise storage solutions that lets you use multiple industry-leading clouds and maintain complete control over your data on dedicated storage systems from NetApp.

NetApp

Sample Customers

Celero, Friedhelm Loh Group, Clarks, Mingkang Natregro Health Food Group, Sofia, Etisalat Fights Fraud, UF Health Shands Hospital, Generali, Elecon Engineering Company Limited, Ventiv , Technology, CPFL Energia, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., SciQuest, Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, Paddy Power, Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, Interconnect Services, Severstal IP-Only AB, PVU Group GmbH

ASE IT, Concerto Cloud

Buyer's Guide

IBM FlashSystem vs. NetApp Private Storage

April 2025

Free Report: IBM FlashSystem vs. NetApp Private Storage

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM FlashSystem vs. NetApp Private Storage and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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